Project Portugal

Always searching for the best conditions, ‘The Windsurf Project’ have been on the road again, this time destination Portugal and its wild west coast. Chasing an XXL swell and north winds were project stalwarts, Thomas Traversa and cameraman Jamie Hancock. John Carter got the last minute call to join them and gives us the lowdown on the mission.

- John Carter

THE GAME

We all know windsurfing can be a fickle sport to predict, especially when lining up big wave spots and all the ingredients needed to sail those locations. Sometimes when your first choice doesn’t happen then it is always reassuring to know there are other options to fall back on that still promise epic sailing. In this case the world’s most notorious big wave spot, Nazaré was our main target but we all knew if it didn’t happen there were plenty of other juicy offerings within an hour’s drive down the Portuguese coast.

LAST MINUTE

For me this whole adventure came about when Jamie Hancock from ‘The Windsurf Project’ called me up one late January evening with a rough plan to head to Portugal with Thomas Traversa to sail Nazaré and some other spots around Lisbon. The mere mention of Nazaré was enough for me to drop all commitments, pack my bags and head to the ferry to be ready for a 6 a.m. flight from Heathrow the following morning. Out of all the places in the world, Nazaré for me has been right at the top of my ‘bucket list’ for several years now and I was super keen to go and check it out. Throw in Traversa, one of the few guys who has the balls to sail it, and for me this trip was a no-brainer. Personally I was not one hundred per cent sure about the forecast, but I was not going to take any chances on missing out if it did possibly happen. Fortunately, The Windsurf Project has partnered with Bridgestone to help fund some of these crazy last minute missions and enable the crew to capture these perfect days with boats, jet skis and all the necessary shooting platforms.

DAY 1 … LISBON!